Stone Lover

by A C Warneke

  “Can’t you see what you’re doing to my family?” he asked, his voice bleak. “Long after you’re gone I will still be here, picking up the pieces of his shattered heart. Did you have to make him fall in love with you, with your family? You’re going to destroy him.”

  Helplessly, she shook her head in denial but he didn’t give her a chance to speak, his words broken. “God, why couldn’t you have left him alone?”

  “Armand….” His name came out without sound but he had already dismissed her with a wave of his hand and a sound of disgust. She could only stare as he disappeared into one of the rooms. Shaken by the encounter, she wrapped her arms around her stomach and leaned against the wall, feeling guilty because she was the reason Vaughn had given up his nights; she was the reason Vaughn had become human. No wonder why Armand hated her.

  How could she ever make it up to him? She feared that no amount of chocolate would ease his tormented soul. How long would it be before Rhys came to hate her? Before Vaughn despised her? She hadn’t considered the implications when Vaughn had offered to give up his nights for her; she had only thought about having him to herself, all night and all day. It had been terribly selfish of her to accept his offer without considering the consequences.

  Maybe there was a way to release the spell….

  That thought was a dagger to her chest; if he was no longer human, what chance did they have as a couple? What kind of future would it be if he had to disappear every time the sun rose in the morning? How could she explain it to her parents that her lover only existed at night, that during the day he was inaccessible?

  What was going to happen if he decided to become a gargoyle again: she would grow old while he didn’t age. What happens when she was in her seventies and he was still young and beautiful and she realized she had spent her whole life with only half a man? Would she come to resent him for remaining perfect when she was old and wrinkled and withered up inside?

  Wiping the tears from her face, she pasted on a smile; she wasn’t going to dwell on the what if’s and could have beens; she was going throw her whole being into loving Vaughn and let the future take care of itself. After all, there had to be a reason why the fates chose her to be his mate; they couldn’t be so cruel as to give him to her only to take him away, could they?

  She snorted at her own foolishness; of course they could, they were the fates. They could do whatever the hell they pleased.

  Sixteen

  Melanie strolled through the winter wonderland holding onto Vaughn’s hand. Ferris held her other hand as Rhys and Jenna walked a few feet ahead of them, eyeing each other thoughtfully. Jenna had been so hesitant to agree to the double date, but in the end, it was Ferris who settled it. The little girl used her big, blue-green eyes and told her mother how wonderful it would be to finally see the ice sculptures in real life instead of on television. When Jenna looked to Melanie for help, Melanie widened her own eyes and said that it was a sight no little girl should miss and wouldn’t it make a wonderful memory if they took Ferris.

  Outnumbered, Jenna graciously gave in. At the time, she hadn’t known that Melanie had invited Vaughn’s brothers to go with. And while Rhys was more than eager to go and meet the stunning woman he had seen while in his gargoyle form, Armand refused to be a part of the travesty that was Melanie Jacobs. As the weeks since Vaughn had relinquished his gargoyle-ness, Armand had grown increasingly irate, finding fault in just about everything Melanie did. Unlike Rhys, he refused to have anything to do with her family, going out of his way to avoid them.

  The weekend Ferris had spent with Melanie only reinforced how much Armand disliked her. Because her apartment was too small for the little girl to be cooped up inside for very long, it had made sense to temporarily move into Vaughn’s quarters, putting them in closer proximity to the man. Every time they walked into a room that Armand was in, he would walk out, even if he was in the middle of something. And if he happened to walk into a room where they were, he would turn right around and leave. It was horrible and hilarious, all at once.

  Ferris adored him; the more he ignored her, the more fascinated she became. She insisted on spending all day outside with her gargoyle, climbing into his lap and having long, one-sided conversations with the stone beast. Melanie felt so sorry for Armand, having to keep his stone form altered for such extended periods of time. Every hour, or so, she would insist on Ferris running inside on some pretense or another. It couldn’t have been easy for Armand, but he never complained, accepting the little girl’s presence in spite of his own misgivings even as he silently fumed about Melanie. He really was a good man.

  From the time Vaughn gave up his nights, nearly three weeks before, he and Melanie spent nearly every moment together, talking about everyday stuff, occasionally delving into deeper issues and humping like bunnies. It was humbling for Melanie to listen to Vaughn’s stories, about how human nature had remained the same no matter how much technological progress had been achieved. There were always those who hungered for power, those who hungered for wealth, and those who hungered for love; those who were always searching and never finding because they were searching in the wrong place, those who always questioned and those who never did; those who found spiritual enlightenment and those who used spirituality for their own glory.

  They didn’t discuss his family beyond Rhys and Armand even though she was infinitely curious to learn everything about him and his world. Anytime she would ask, which was often, he would give her his slow smile and tell her that he would tell her but he was bound to silence. Apparently the fates would only allow her to see a little bit of the picture at a time. Vaughn explained that if she saw too much too soon, learned too much before she was ready, her brain wouldn’t be able to handle it and she would go into catatonic shock and might not ever recover.

  Then he would laugh and shake his head, telling her he didn’t know why the fates were being so reticent in their sharing their secrets but they surely had their reasons.

  It didn’t stop her from asking the questions in the hopes that the fates would give her another morsel.

  Though they disagreed on some issues, they had agreed on most and their discussions were filled with much laughter. Vaughn listened to her thoughts and encouraged her to delve deeper into them, often playing Devil’s Advocate to get her to think beyond her comfort zone, making her truly examine why she believed what she believed. It disturbed her that she had never really questioned her beliefs before and hadn’t realized how much she had absorbed and accepted without ever really examining it. She began to see the world around her in a new light.

  And not in the manner of gargoyles and imps and wizards.

  They connected on so many levels, but every now and then, when he thought she wasn’t looking, he would get a distant look in his eyes, staring off into space, lost in his own thoughts. And when she would ask him about it, the sadness disappeared and he would smile at her and tell her how much he loved her. But the haunted looks grew more and more frequent and it was getting harder for Vaughn to hide his despair from her. It was only a matter of time before he broke and told her his burdens; he was always so strong and she wanted to be a shoulder he could lean on, to give him some of her strength for a change.

  She wanted him to lean on her so she could be his rock.

  With her fingers entwined with his, Melanie leaned her head against Vaughn’s shoulder, smiling to herself as they walked amongst the crowds of the Winter Carnival. As cold as it was outside, she felt toasty warm inside, knowing that she loved a wonderful man and she was loved in return.

  Mentally, she continued making a list of all of the things she wanted to share with Vaughn, from travelling the world and exploring all of the myths that weren’t really myths to the more mundane like taking walks along the lake or going to the state fair. Of course, the Minnesota State Fair was not mundane in the least and she was looking forward to experience the craziness of it with Vaughn.

  Of course her family loved him almost as m
uch as she did; her mother was even asking if there were any wedding plans in the works. She was also hinting that a few more grandchildren would be wonderful, that Ferris was nearly six and needed a few cousins close to her own age, forgetting the fact that Ferris had tons of cousins on her father’s side. Melanie didn’t have the heart to tell her mom that there might not be any children, even if she, herself, held out hope that things were different now that Vaughn was human.

  She couldn’t ask because she wasn’t sure what she wanted the answer to be. If he was human, she’d panic and if he wasn’t, she wasn’t sure how she’d react.

  “Look at that one, Aunt Mellie,” Ferris called out, tugging her hand and pulling her over to an intricately carved ice sculpture. “Isn’t it beautiful?”

  Melanie had to laugh when she realized she was looking at an ice gargoyle, very similar to the griffin Ferris had claimed for her own. Standing on her tip toes, she whispered into Vaughn’s ear, “Kind of reminds me of Armand.”

  He huffed out and amused laugh, turning his head and giving her a quick peck on the lips. “It kind of does.”

  “I want a gargoyle” Ferris commented thoughtfully, repeating her earlier sentiment, studying the beautiful lines of the ice sculpture. Running her small hand along the clawed foot, she looked up at Vaughn. “I want this gargoyle.”

  “Honey, he’s made of ice,” Vaughn smiled, getting down on his haunches so that he was at the same level as her. “He would melt if you took him home.”

  She made a frustrated sound as she frowned, “That’s not what I mean.

  He took her hands in his, tilting his head to the side as he studied the little girl. “Then what do you mean?”

  Ferris looked up at her Aunt Mellie, her big, blue-green eyes desperate to make her understand, “You know what I mean; you have a gargoyle.”

  Melanie grinned, joining the two as she squatted down as well. Slipping her arm through Vaughn’s, she nodded sympathetically, “I do know; there’s nothing more wonderful than your very own gargoyle.”

  Ferris’s frown melted into a dazzling smile, “Exactly.”

  Vaughn’s brows were pulled into a frown as murmured in warning, “Melanie.”

  She shook her head, waving off his concerns, “Rhys has been a far worse influence, Vaughn. He….”

  Her words faded away as she saw one of those stupid, green creatures again. It was sneering at her with too many sharp, pointy teeth in its wide, ugly mouth. Slowly, she stood up and looked around, wondering who was going to be trying to attack her this time. The incidents were increasing as the days passed: strangers would randomly come up to her and try to start a fight; friends would call up and divulge a dark secret, even if they didn’t pull a full Peter on her; customers were complaining about her chocolates, which nearly brought her to tears.

  They mostly left her alone when Vaughn was nearby and simply watched her from a distance, but the moment he turned his back they would circle. She didn’t want to worry him and make him feel like he had to hold her hand al of the time, so he mostly ignored the creatures. But she knew that there were more than she could see. She didn’t know how she knew but she did, figuring they were like cock roaches: for every one she saw, a hundred more were lurking in the darkness. To see one when Vaughn and Rhys were nearby was alarming and made her very uneasy.

  “What is it?” Vaughn asked, standing up and swooping Ferris up into his arms.

  “It’s nothing,” she murmured distractedly, watching every person that came near her, waiting for the imp’s…persuasion to set one of them on her. Her hand went to the medallion between her breasts, the burning heat both familiar and dismaying; from where was the attack going to come?

  Maybe the pendant Omari gave her was defective; maybe it attracted these stupid imps. It wasn’t like she knew all that much about the elusive man; she didn’t even know what he was. She would find the card he had given her and pay him a visit, ask him why he would be so cruel as to give her a cursed amulet. It wasn’t like she was a threat to him; she was merely a human.

  “Hey, sis,” Jenna called out as she and Rhys joined them in front of the ice sculpture. “We thought we lost you guys when we turned around and you weren’t there.”

  “Ferris wanted to spend a little more time examining this sculpture,” Vaughn answered when Melanie didn’t say anything. Exchanging a glance with Rhys, he cleared his throat, “She’s still fascinated by gargoyles.”

  Rhys’s laughter filled the night air and several people – several women – turned their heads to stare at the gorgeous man. He reached out and tousled Ferris’s hair, winking at her, “Nothing wrong with that, little one; you know that I’m partial to gargoyles, too.”

  She reached her arms out and transferred from Vaughn to Rhys, giving the long haired man a smile that would melt the stoniest heart. Rhys didn’t have a heart of stone and had lost his heart to the little girl when she had visited. He had quickly adapted to having a little human underfoot and had enjoyed playing games with her and flinging her onto his back and giving her rides. Rhys quickly became one of her favorite people, even if he wasn’t Armand indulging her with tales of gargoyles and dragons and fairies.

  A loud crack rent the air, making the crowd of people jump. Melanie spun around, desperate to discover the source of the sound so she could be prepared; she just knew that the imps had gotten to someone. Her pendant was hot now, really hot; was it a beacon to the devil imps? Reaching up to take the cursed thing off, she was suddenly pushed to the ground, landing painfully hard on her back, as the large gargoyle sculpture crashed right where she had been standing.

  The wind was knocked from her lungs as the man landed on top of her, the oddly familiar scent of cinnamon and nutmeg clouding her head. The sounds of the carnival receded as she fought for breath. A large hand rubbed her sternum and a low, silky voice murmured, “Breathe; just breathe.”

  She didn’t want to open her eyes; if she opened her eyes she knew what she would see and she didn’t want to see him. But he was giving her back the ability to breathe and he had just saved her life. Grudgingly, she forced her eyes open and saw him grinning down at her, his brilliant eyes sparkling in his unlined face. “Omari; why am I not surprised?”

  “Melanie,” he beamed, still rubbing her sternum, even though she could breathe freely once again. “My favorite human.”

  With a frown that he would talk so freely, she looked around and saw that they were in their own little bubble; everything else was frozen, including Vaughn who wore an expression of utmost terror. Returning her attention to Omari’s face, she glared, “What have you done?”

  His smile widened and his fingers leisurely wandered off her sternum towards to her breast. When she pushed his hand away, he chuckled and sat back on his heels, pulling her up into a sitting position as well. He was still straddling her legs and she found herself very close to the gorgeous, frightening man. “Is that anyway to treat the man who just saved your life?”

  She snorted, “I thought you said this amulet would do that; it doesn’t seem to be working.”

  He tsk-ed, letting his fingers run over the pendant between her breasts. “It works perfectly. None of the attempts at harming you ever came to fruition; after all, you survived a fall from the fourteenth floor.”

  Her brow furrowed deeper as she gave his words some thought, “I suppose that’s true; but if it worked properly, shouldn’t the railing have stayed in place instead of breaking off in my grip?”

  He chuckled, “Ah, my little skeptic; you know the amulet works, why are you being so stubborn?”

  “I’m not stubborn,” she protested, trying to stand up but he refused to move, keeping her pinned between his firm thighs. With a resigned sigh, she remained seated. “Why are you here, Omari?”

  “Simple,” he shrugged his broad shoulders, meeting her gaze unflinchingly. “You were about to remove the amulet and that would have been unwise.”

  “I thought it wasn’t working,” she explained f
eebly, putting her hand over the now-cool pendant. Glancing away from his too perceptive gaze, she exhaled, “I always see the imps and within moments, the amulet heats up and something happens. Tonight it was particularly hot, as hot as the night I fell.”

  “Because they’re running out of time and tonight the imp’s plan was particularly audacious,” Omari explained. He froze suddenly, as if finally hearing what she said and looking at her in disbelief. “You can see them?”

  “Sort of,” she crinkled her nose and tried to explain, “I think that I see them but when I try to focus, they’re gone. And there are so many of them; even when I can’t see them, I feel them watching me. At first I thought I was crazy…..”

  “You can see them,” he repeated, his voice deepening with… arousal?

  “I said I could,” she countered, frustrated, glaring at the man whose only response was to laugh. No, he wasn’t aroused; he was laughing at her, of course he wasn’t aroused. Huffing out disgruntled breathe, she muttered, “I don’t see what’s so funny.”

  “No wonder they’ve taken a liking to you!” he chortled, wiping imaginary tears from his eyes. “Most humans are unaware of their presence; you must be an exceptionally tempting morsel.”

  “I don’t understand,” she scowled, her eyes drifting to the immobile Vaughn, her sister and Rhys, and Ferris. Ferris’s gaze seemed to be tracking Omari and it was strangely disconcerting being that Ferris was frozen and she and Omari were not. She would have asked if that was normal but he started talking and she didn’t have a chance.

  “They feed off panic, fear, lust, adrenaline; any strong human emotion, though they prefer terror. You’re aware of them therefore your responses are like a drug injected directly into the bloodstream,” he explained, oblivious to the watchful, little girl. His eyes moved over her face, lingering on her lips as she digested his words.